Student, man indicted on robbery charges

Athens-Clarke County

Posted: Saturday, August 27, 2005

By Joe Johnsonjoe.johnson@onlineathens.com

A University of Georgia student and another man were indicted this week on charges they robbed a drug dealer last month and one of the men tried to take the gun of an off-duty state trooper who intervened, possibly to shoot the trooper.

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The men were part of a trio who were armed with a gun and knife when they assaulted a resident of River Club Apartments, 1005 Macon Highway, and stole an undisclosed amount of marijuana, police and court records indicate.

One resident of the apartment escaped through a window and alerted a Georgia State Patrol trooper who lives in the complex. The trooper got there in time to stop one of the robbers at gunpoint, while an Athens-Clarke police officer arrested another. The third suspect escaped, according to police.

While the trooper held 22-year-old Jibril M. Hersi at bay, the UGA student grabbed for the gun "to turn and use the officer's weapon against him," police said.

The trooper prevailed in the struggle, and both Hersi and Omary M. Hagi, 26, of Clarkston, were arrested.

A Clarke County grand jury indicted the men Wednesday, charging both with armed robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and theft by taking, and charging Hersi with an additional count of aggravated assault and removal of a weapon from a public official.

Hagi also goes by the alias of Mohamed Khalif Jamale, according to the indictment.

An arraignment date has not been set.

The robbery began sometime after 1 a.m. July 28, when Hersi showed up at two UGA students' apartment to buy marijuana, according to police.

After placing money on a table, Hersi said he would be right back, and returned with Hagi, who was armed with a handgun, and another man wielding a knife, police said.

The men demanded both drugs and money from the students and ransacked the apartment looking for both, according to police, who said they found several jars of marijuana which they put into a backpack. The unidentified assailant punched one of the victims several times in the head, police said.

While the robbers were rifling drawers and going through closets, one of the students escaped through a window and alerted neighbor Charles Parker, a trooper with Georgia State Patrol's Washington post.

When Parker got there, he saw Hersi and Hagi leaving the apartment and ordered them at gunpoint to stop, police said. While Hagi ran, Hersi struggled with the officer for the gun. An Athens-Clarke police officer, who arrived at about 1:30 a.m., soon found Hagi and arrested him, police said.

In addition to the marijuana, an X-Box video game system was stolen but was recovered on the apartment's stairway, police said.